Invest in US stocks 24x7.

First remittance through HDFC took me 3 weekends. Not 3 days. 3 WEEKENDS. My RM didn't know what Form A2 was. I had to explain LRS to the branch manager.

Look if u see a proper market fall some day and u want to buy — wire transfers showed up after 2 or 3 working days. Maybe 12 hours with HDFC tie-up.

I transfer funds from HDFC and it takes around a day or two to reflect in the wallet. We have to plan for enough funds ahead so that we can buy instantly during an opportunity.

Tried IBKR direct first. Lasted exactly one remittance cycle before I gave up. The Form A2 experience at HDFC branch was soul crushing.

The FX conversion quietly destroyed me. We're talking 2–3% hidden in the rate. On a ₹5L remittance that's like ₹10–15K just... gone. I didn't even realize this until months later.

INDmoney has a spread of 1–2% yes and that will eat away your money and you wouldn't know.

The current mid market rate is 87.15. You're losing 60 paise per dollar or 0.68%. Paying 1.5–2.5% in transaction expenses is sub-optimal to say the least.

The first money transfer — debited from my bank account — is stuck. Initially an incorrect amount was credited, and now even that amount has disappeared. Canned response: technical issues at broker end.

INDmoney will take at least a month to get to your concern and will take more months to resolve the issue.

Pretty bad experience — this was my second attempt with them and I have completely stopped now.

IndMoney and Vested are not US SEC registered brokers. They act as middlemen for the likes of Drivewealth or Alpaca Securities. I see no reason to add an extra layer.

The workflow forced me to open a Federal bank account despite having an account with a private bank. Erstwhile SBM, then suddenly Federal — no clarity, no assistance.

It automatically created an SBM bank account for me, which I later closed. It took about 45 days to close the account.

Tax reporting is basically nothing — they give you USD statements and then it's your problem for Schedule FA. My CA charged me extra that year.

TCS tracking? On you. Schedule FA? Completely on you. Everything is in USD, nothing mapped to INR. Your CA will hate you.

If your US holdings cross $60K, your nominees could get hit with up to 40% US estate tax. On ₹50L that's potentially ₹20L going to the IRS. Nobody on Vested tells you this. I found out from a CA friend over drinks.

Started with Vested, realized the estate tax issue, had a mini panic attack.